March2017

Member Brett brought a mystery bottle to the Club for our March meet. It was good fun working out what it was.

It was one of these!!!

The loose (very loose) theme of the evening was to 'not to give up on a wine after a first impression'. So we had a number of wines that were sort of surprising.

Corsican Nature Muscat Doux from SuperValu  2014 €6.99

I suppose the price was because they couldn't sell it at a higher one. Probably because as the Doux tell us it's quite sweet. The gas thing in Ireland is that if we taste sweet we turn away but if we are fooled into believing that a wines sweetness is in fact its fruitiness then we love it!! Case in point are

a lot of the GAllo wines, Blossom Hill and even McGuigan Black Label.

This Muscat is a great summer time drink. Serve it ice cold to dampen the sweetness. Then enjoy its rose petal lychee style.

This contrasted (very sharply) with :

Torreon de Paredes Sauvignon Blanc

A Chilean wine from a label that always carries its fruit with distinction. This shows as a very good

halfway house between an exuberant Marlborough NZ style and a traditional more reserved one from the Loire. Lots of fresh cut grass and a crisp heart to a long finish. Nothing exceptional but well made and memorable.

Now go back to the Corsican for a reality check on sweet v fruity.

Rioja Cebrel Joven Lidl c €6

I always like this wine for its great value and honest to goodness fruit. It didn't disappoint. We then compared it to its more expensive cousin from the same store.

Cosada Morales Rioja Reserva Privada c €14

Excllent style. Lots of soft oaking has spiced up the middle palate, bouquet and finish here.  Still, most of the members preferred the Joven!

Then we had the Mystery Bottle! It turned out to be very instructive as it had been brought up from France as part of a wine buying spree in France last summer. As it was a mostly Sauvignon Blanc based wine from Bordeaux it contrasted fabulously with the riper Torreon de Paredes. (It was served here as up to now we didn't know if it was a white or a red wine!! It was:

Domaine de Ricaud Entre Deux Mers 2015

I love Sauvignon Blanc/Semillon blends from Bordeaux. Sadly the Semillon element is missing from so many Bordeaux whites these days. It showed well here with a fine textural palate and a stalky

mock aged bouquet. Good wine showing a bit of lees work creaming up the palate. Members twigged the Sauvignon straight away. Good for the members! Great for cheese and for ageing a couple of years.

Next up we had the Torreon de Paredes Cabernet Sauvignon
This is a wow and shows why Chile can be considered one of the finest growers of Cab Sauv in the
world. Delicous, strong and yet restrained. All round a good one.

Great tasting so far. I wanted to show how the Cabernet flavors can be rounded up. I introduced rustic elements onto the palate. To do this I opened a wine from Portugal - Porta 6 from O'Briens Wines. Great wine. Slightly roasted, very rich and yet soft tannins only. It was universally given a big thumbs up on the night.

Then I asked them to go back and try the Corsican --  again!!

Finally. I sometimes grab a bottle on the way out the door. Just so they could put the Corsican sweetness into context I brought a 10year old half bottle of Magnotta Limited Edition Sparkling Vidal Ice Wine 2006 from Canada. I'm a Canadain ice wine lover ....sin sceil eile.....

Now Vidal makes a white wine and this wine was no longer sparkling! It wasnt white any longer either!! Other words were used. Tawny, Magnificent, Sweet, Acidic, Brilliant. Raisins and light fudge compete with apricit and peach. Must be in excess of 200g res sugar per litre. Now this makes the Corsican seem positively dry!! Why is it tawny brown? No idea. The blue glass and my wardrobe should have protected it! Fascinating stuff

The AC Wine Club wuill meet again on the First Monday of April See you there.